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NI-DCPower 16.0 Readme


Thank you for using NI-DCPower. This file contains important information about NI-DCPower and is organized into the following sections:


New Features

Supported Hardware

System Requirements

Installed Software, Documentation, and Examples

Executable

Documentation

Accessing VIs and Functions

NI Software Support for Microsoft Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003

Product Security and Critical Updates

Driver Version Naming Changes

Uninstalling/Modifying NI-DCPower

Known Issues

Bug Fixes

Automating the Installation of NI Products

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10.

Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1.

Legal Information



New Features

NI-DCPower 16.0 includes the following new features:


  • Support for LabVIEW 2016 (32- and 64-bit)

NI-DCPower 15.2 includes the following new features:


  • Support for the PXIe-4135

NI-DCPower 15.1 includes the following new features:


  • Support for the NI PXIe-4136/4137
  • Support for advanced sequencing for NI PXIe-4140/4141/4142/4143/4144/4145 devices

NI-DCPower 15.0 includes the following new features:


  • Support for LabVIEW 2015 (32- and 64-bit)

NI-DCPower 14.1 includes the following new features:


  • Support for advanced sequencing for the NI PXIe-4138/4139
  • Support for debugging an NI-DCPower device while in use by another application, by monitoring or controlling the device in the NI-DCPower Soft Front Panel

NI-DCPower 14.0 includes the following new features:


  • Support for LabVIEW 2014 (32- and 64-bit)

NI-DCPower 1.9 includes the following new features:


  • Support for the NI PXIe-4138/4139

NI-DCPower 1.8.5 includes the following new features:


  • Support for LabVIEW 2013 (32- and 64-bit)
  • Support removed for LabVIEW 2009 (32- and 64-bit)

NI-DCPower 1.8 includes the following new features:


  • Support for the NI PXIe-4112/4113
  • Support for self-calibration of the NI PXI-4132

Supported Hardware

NI-DCPower 15.2 and later supports the following power supply and source-measure units (SMUs):


  • PXI-4110
  • PXIe-4112
  • PXIe-4113
  • PXI-4130
  • PXI-4132
  • PXIe-4135
  • PXIe-4136
  • PXIe-4137
  • PXIe-4138
  • PXIe-4139
  • PXIe-4140
  • PXIe-4141
  • PXIe-4142
  • PXIe-4143
  • PXIe-4144
  • PXIe-4145
  • PXIe-4154

Note  MXI Express and MXI-4 are supported on Windows 10/8.1/8.0/7/Vista/XP, but MXI-3 is supported on only Windows XP.


Device-specific information about these modules is included in the NI DC Power Supplies and SMUs Help.


System Requirements

Supported Operating Systems

NI-DCPower 16.0 supports the following operating systems:


  • Windows 10 (32- and 64-bit)
  • Windows 8.1 (32- and 64-bit)
  • Windows 8.0 (32- and 64-bit)
  • Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit)
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 (64-bit)

Note  NI-DCPower 16.0 and later does not support Windows Server non-R2 editions.


NI recommends that you have the most recent service pack for your operating system installed. Windows Vista/XP users must use NI-DCPower 15.2 or earlier.


Supported Real-Time Operating Environments

NI-DCPower 16.0 and later supports the following real-time operating environments:


Minimum System Requirements

  • Processor—1 GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
  • RAM—1 GB RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
  • A screen resolution of 1,024 x 768
  • Windows 10/8.1/7, with all available critical updates and service packs

Recommended System

  • Processor—Pentium 4 or equivalent
  • RAM—Windows 10/8.1/8.0/7: 1 GB
  • A screen resolution of 1,024 x 768
  • Windows 10/8.1/8.0/7, with all available critical updates and service packs

Application Development Environments (ADEs)

Note:  You should install ADEs, such as NI LabVIEW, NI LabWindows/CVI or Microsoft Visual Studio®, before installing NI-DCPower. To add support for ADEs installed after installing NI-DCPower, modify your NI-DCPower installation or launch the NI-DCPower installer again.


  • NI LabVIEW 2013 SP1, 2014 SP1, 2015 SP1, or 2016
  • LabVIEW Real-Time Module 2013 SP1, 2014 SP1, 2015 SP1, or 2016
  • LabWindows™/CVI™ 2012 or later
  • LabWindows/CVI Real-Time Module 2012 or later
  • Microsoft Visual C++ (MSVC) 6.0 or later
  • If you are running your application on an RT target, 128 MB of memory or more is required.

Installed Software, Documentation, and Examples

Software

  • <NIDocDir> is an alias for the following National Instruments file folder location:
    • Users\Public\Documents\National Instruments
  • <IVIROOTDIR32> is an alias for the following National Instruments file folder location:
    • (32-bit) Program Files\IVI Foundation\IVI\
    • (64-bit) Program Files (x86)\IVI Foundation\IVI\
    • Note  $(IVIROOTDIR64) is configured as an environment variable on the target system.


      If you upgraded an installation of IVI, your files may be located in the following location:


      • (32-bit) Program Files\IVI\
      • (64-bit) Program Files (x86)\IVI\
  • <IVIROOTDIR64> is an alias for the following National Instruments file folder location:
    • (64-bit) Program Files\IVI Foundation\IVI\

      Note  $(IVIROOTDIR64) is configured as an environment variable on the target system.


File Locations

Item Installed Location
NI-DCPower <IVIROOTDIR32>\Drivers\niDCPower
NI-DCPower Function Panel <IVIROOTDIR32>\Drivers\niDCPower\niDCPower.fp
NI-DCPower Examples <NIDocDir>\niDCPower\Examples
NI-DCPower Header files <IVIROOTDIR32>\Include
NI-DCPower Import Library files (32-bit) <IVIROOTDIR32>\Lib
NI-DCPower Import Library files (64-bit) <IVIROOTDIR32>\Lib_x64
NI-DCPower DLL (32-bit) <IVIROOTDIR32>\Bin


Additional File Locations for 64-bit operating systems

Item Installed Location
NI-DCPower Header files <IVIROOTDIR64>\Include
NI-DCPower Import Library files (64-bit) <IVIROOTDIR64>\Lib_x64
NI-DCPower DLL (64-bit) <IVIROOTDIR64>\Bin



Executable

Select Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI-DCPower»NI-DCPower Soft Front Panel to launch the NI-DCPower Soft Front Panel.


Documentation

Documentation is available at Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI-DCPower»Documentation. The documentation set is composed of the following documents:


Document Format Description
NI DC Power Supplies and SMUs Help HTML/Windows Help Contains primary help content for NI-DCPower products. The help is an HTML version of a traditional user manual that includes the following information:
  • An introduction to DC Power fundamentals
  • Hardware device information
  • How to get started with application development
  • A complete reference for all NI-DCPower programming functions and VIs
Getting Started Guide for your device or NI DC Power Supplies and SMUs Getting Started Guide (if your device does not have its own getting started guide) Printed and PDF Contains software and hardware installation, MAX configuration, signal connection, and troubleshooting information for your device.
Specifications for your device Printed and PDF Lists technical specifications for your device.
Calibration Procedures for your device PDF Contains calibration instructions for your device.
NI-DCPower Readme HTML (this document) Contains information about supported hardware and operating systems, new features, fixed issues, and legal notices.

 


For the most recent revisions of documentation and for newly released documentation, visit ni.com/manuals.


Note  To view the specifications, you need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed. You can install the viewer from www.adobe.com/reader.


 


Accessing VIs and Functions

To access the LabVIEW sample projects and templates from the New Project dialog, select Sample Projects in the left pane and navigate to the project that best matches your application requirements.


NI-DCPower palette VIs are available from the Functions»Measurement I/O»NI–DCPower palette.


NI–DCPower functions are available in LabWindows/CVI from the Instrument menu. To load the NI–DCPower function panel (.fp), select Instrument»Load, and navigate to IVI\Drivers\niDCPower\niDCPower.fp.


Finding Examples

In LabVIEW, you can use the NI Example Finder to search or browse examples. NI–DCPower examples are classified by keyword, so you can search for a particular device or measurement function. In LabVIEW, select Help»Find Examples to launch the NI Example Finder. The NI Example Finder offers two ways to access all installed LabVIEW example VIs (including NI–DCPower examples) and their descriptions:


  • Click the Browse tab to locate examples by task at Hardware Input and Output»Modular Instruments»NI–DCPower or by directory structure at instr»niDCPower.
  • Click the Search tab to search all installed examples by keyword. For example, search for "DCPower" to locate all NI-DCPower examples.

The NI Example Finder is also available in LabWindows/CVI by selecting Help»Find Examples.


You can also access all the installed NI–DCPower examples for LabVIEW and LabWindows/CVI at Start»All Programs»National Instruments»NI-DCPower»Examples .


Examples also are available online that demonstrate NI-DCPower functionality. Refer to ni.com/examples for these examples and for more information.


NI-DCPower 16.0 Drops Support for Microsoft Windows 7 RTM, Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003

With this release, NI-DCPower 16.0 drops support for Microsoft Windows 7 RTM (with no service pack), Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003. NI-DCPower 16.0 and later will not install or run on an unsupported OS. You cannot deploy or distribute applications that use NI-DCPower 16.0 to an unsupported OS. Additionally, after installing NI-DCPower 16.0, you cannot use any installers built on this computer with any version of LabVIEW, LabWindows™/CVI™, NI TestStand™, or Measurement Studio on an unsupported OS.


For more information about the changes to our OS support for 2016, refer to KB 79UC78LS, Why Does my LabVIEW, LabWindows/CVI, Measurement Studio, or TestStand Built Installer Fail on Windows XP/Vista and Server 2003?.


Product Security and Critical Updates

Visit ni.com/security to view and subscribe to receive security notifications about National Instruments products. Visit ni.com/critical-updates for information about critical updates from National Instruments.


 


Driver Version Naming Changes

NI-DCPower versions are now aligned with the versions of major NI application software products. This alignment gives you information about the year the driver was released and the most recent software version the driver was designed to work with. Driver versions now start with a two-digit year indicator: <ProductName><Year-BasedVersion>. For example, NI-DCPower 15.0 is the version released with LabVIEW 2015. The last version released under the old numbering scheme is NI-DCPower 1.9. The first version released under the new numbering scheme is NI-DCPower 14.0.


Uninstalling/Modifying NI-DCPower

For Windows 7, complete the following steps:


  1. Launch the Control Panel by selecting Start»Control Panel.
  2. Double-click Programs and Features.
  3. Select National Instruments Software.
  4. Click Uninstall/Change.
  5. Select NI-DCPower 16.0 from the dialog box that appears.
  6. Click Remove to uninstall the product; click Modify to change the components that are installed.

For Windows 10/8.1/8.0, complete the following steps:


  1. Right-click on the Start button
  2. Select Control Panel.
  3. Select Programs»Programs and Features.
  4. Select National Instruments Software.
  5. Click the Uninstall button.
  6. Select NI-DCPower 16.0 from the dialog box that appears.
  7. Click Remove to uninstall the product; click Modify to change the components that are installed.

As part of the NI-DCPower 16.0 installation, the following software is installed. To completely remove the NI-DCPower 16.0 installation from your system, you must also remove all of the following products.


  • NI-DCPower Runtime 16.0
  • NI IVI Compliance Package 16.0
  • NI Measurement & Automation Explorer 16.0
  • NI-DAQmx 15.0*
  • NI-VISA Runtime 16.0
  • NI I/O Trace 15.0
  • NI System Configuration 16.0

Caution   Several of the software packages listed above are shared with other NI software packages. If you attempt to remove a piece of software that something else is dependent on, a message launches to warn you about the software dependencies. You can choose to either uninstall all of the software or to leave the shared software installed. If you choose to uninstall the shared software, some of your other NI software may no longer function correctly.


Note  Do not attempt to uninstall by manually deleting files.


*Starting with driver version 15.0, NI-DCPower installation includes NI-DAQmx Runtime and Configuration support but not NI-DAQmx LabVIEW ADE support. To install NI-DAQmx LabVIEW ADE support, install the full version of NI-DAQmx from ni.com/downloads.


Known Issues

You can access the software and documentation known issues list online. Refer to the NI-DCPower 16.0 Known Issues at ni.com/info and enter the Info Code exeevt for an up-to-date list of known issues in NI-DCPower 16.0.


Bug Fixes

The following items are changes in NI-DCPower 15.2 from NI-DCPower 15.1.


ID Fixed Issue
 
Added support for monitoring SFP Debug Driver Sessions when sequencing.

 


The following items are changes in NI-DCPower 14.1.2 from NI-DCPower 14.1.1.


ID Fixed Issue
519695
Fixed an issue in which NI-DCPower Self Calibrate could cause a voltage and current measurement offset on the NI PXIe-4138/4139.

The following items are changes in NI-DCPower 14.1.1 from NI-DCPower 14.1.


ID Fixed Issue
501023
A hardware error in an NI-DCPower device no longer causes other devices in the system to fail to initialize properly.

The following items are changes in NI-DCPower 14.1 from NI-DCPower 1.9.


ID Fixed Issue
450955
Running short sequences (three or fewer steps) or quickly aborting a sequence no longer occasionally returns an error.
405305
Fixed an issue with the NI  PXIe-414x in which calling the niDCPower Configure Output Enabled VI after outputting a sequence of currents returned an error if you set nondefault current ranges. You can now set nondefault current ranges under these circumstances.

The following items are changes in NI-DCPower 1.9 from NI-DCPower 1.8.


ID Fixed Issue
404741
Under certain configurations, the NI PXIe-4154 could inadvertently toggle from remote sense to local sense, then back to remote sense at NIDCPower Initiate, forcing the user to add additional settling time before taking a measurement. This has been resolved.

The following items are changes in NI-DCPower 1.8 from NI-DCPower 1.7.5.


ID Fixed Issue
286821
Fixed an issue in which you must run LabWindows/CVI with elevated privileges to successfully launch the NI-DCPower Simultaneous Update example from LabWindows/CVI. NI has renamed this example to NI-DCPower Simultaneous Operation, and you no longer need to run LabWindows/CVI with elevated privileges to launch this example.
371368
Fixed an issue in which temperature changes degraded the output accuracy on the NI PXI-4132. You can now self-calibrate the NI PXI-4132 to maintain output accuracy.

Automating the Installation of NI Products

You can automate the installation of most NI products using command-line arguments to suppress some or all of the installer user interface and dialog boxes. However, starting with the August 2012 releases (products using NI Installers version 3.1 or later), you may need to perform additional steps before or during a silent installation of NI software.


If the NI product you are installing uses Microsoft .NET 4.0, the .NET installer may run before any NI software installs and may require a reboot before the installation of NI software begins. To avoid a .NET reboot, install .NET 4.0 separately before you install NI software.


For more information about automating the installation of NI products, refer to the following KnowledgeBase articles:


Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 10

Microsoft Windows 10 is the latest version of the Windows operating system and features significant changes compared to previous versions. Windows 10 introduces several new capabilities and also combines features from both Windows 7 and Windows 8. For more information about NI support for Windows 10, visit ni.com/windows10.


Using NI Software with Microsoft Windows 8.1

When you install National Instruments software on Microsoft Windows 8.1, you will notice a few additional tiles in the Apps view, including shortcuts to NI application software products such as NI LabVIEW, Measurement & Automation Explorer (NI MAX), and NI Launcher. For more information about NI support for Windows 8.1, visit ni.com/windows8.



Legal Information

Copyright


© 2007–2016 National Instruments. All rights reserved.


Under the copyright laws, this publication may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storing in an information retrieval system, or translating, in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of National Instruments Corporation.


National Instruments respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our users to do the same. NI software is protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Where NI software may be used to reproduce software or other materials belonging to others, you may use NI software only to reproduce materials that you may reproduce in accordance with the terms of any applicable license or other legal restriction.


End-User License Agreements and Third-Party Legal Notices


You can find end-user license agreements (EULAs) and third-party legal notices in the following locations after installation:


  • Notices are located in the <National Instruments>\_Legal Information and <National Instruments> directories.
  • EULAs are located in the <National Instruments>\Shared\MDF\Legal\license directory.
  • Review <National Instruments>\_Legal Information.txt for information on including legal information in installers built with NI products.

U.S. Government Restricted Rights


If you are an agency, department, or other entity of the United States Government ("Government"), the use, duplication, reproduction, release, modification, disclosure or transfer of the technical data included in this manual is governed by the Restricted Rights provisions under Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.227-14 for civilian agencies and Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement Section 252.227-7014 and 252.227-7015 for military agencies.


IVI Foundation Copyright Notice


Content from the IVI specifications reproduced with permission from the IVI Foundation.


The IVI Foundation and its member companies make no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The IVI Foundation and its member companies shall not be liable for errors contained herein or for incidental or consequential damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.


Trademarks


Refer to the NI Trademarks and Logo Guidelines at ni.com/trademarks for information on National Instruments trademarks. Other product and company names mentioned herein are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.


Patents


For patents covering the National Instruments products/technology, refer to the appropriate location: Help»Patents in your software, the patents.txt file on your media, or the National Instruments Patent Notice at ni.com/patents.


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